UCLA beats OSU, which beat USC. So ...?
At this point, any win is beautiful for UCLA’s football team.
I think that goes for UCLA’s win over Oregon State on Saturday, in which the Bruins got away with committing 13 penalties because the Beavers fumbled the ball away four times, missed two field goals and generally looked nothing like the people who upset a certain other L.A. school the week before last.
U-G-L-Y, fight, fight, fight?
It was enough to put the Bruins back on their feet after a four-game losing streak had knocked their bowl chances into the ropes and turned up the heat on Karl Dorrell.
Mixed metaphors all over the lawn – it was that kind of evening at the Rose Bowl.
“It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but given the circumstances of where we are, I think it’s important we feel good about this win,” Dorrell said.
The coach just didn’t want them to feel too good for too long, evidentally.
Dorrell immediately went into a litany of negatives: “We didn’t play smart …”
The Bruins had tried to clear their heads by declaring this week the start of a new season. They had three games left, against Oregon State, Arizona State and USC. They had to win two of them to get to six victories and be eligible to go to a bowl.
“This (new) season,” quarterback Patrick Cowan said, “we’ve decided to win instead of lose.”
As receiver Marcus Everett put it: “This was Opening Day. We’re 1-0.”
The Bruins, who were slight underdogs, scored one of the Pac-10’s three upsets Saturday, winning 25-7 on an increasingly chilly late afternoon. Rutgers came back from 25-7 this week, but Oregon State is no Rutgers, as people have always said.
This marked a bounce-back for the defense after the Bruins gave up 75 points to Washington State and Cal – which came after the Bruins held six of their first seven opponents under their season averages.
The whole thing turned on the first skirmish of the second half. Oregon State had a fourth-and-1 at its 48 and went for it. Quarterback Matt Moore handed to Yvenson Bernard, and defensive tackle Brigham Harwell stopped him in the backfield.
The Bruins took over beyond midfield. On the first play, Cowan and Everett connected on a long throw for a touchdown.
The Bruins went ahead 13-7. Cowan, booed as he went 8 for 16 with an interception in the first half, calmed down and threw another touchdown pass to Everett.
Going into this, about the best thing you could say about the 4-5 Bruins was that they were the best five-loss team in the nation. Jeff Sagarin’s ratings in USA Today, numbers based on who beats whom and by how much, ranked the Bruins 31st in the country. That’s right between 7-2 Maryland and 6-3 Pitt, and by far the highest among teams with losing records.
The idea is, Dorrell’s team should have been winning more than it was. In their losses to Notre Dame, Washington State and Cal, the Bruins led by four, led by one and were within one point in the second half.
The loss last month at South Bend was still echoing Saturday at the Rose Bowl. With 5½ minutes left and the Bruins up 22-7, they had third-and-6 on the Oregon State 7. Cowan handed off to Chris Markey, who was stuffed for no gain, and the fans booed.
Since Dorrell failed to go to the pass for three plays in a row and came up short of the first down that would have held off Notre Dame, he’s going to hear about anytime he stays on the ground on third down.
“Really?” Markey said a few minutes later when somebody told him the fans had booed Saturday. “They’ve got to realize, we’re up. I would have called for a run there. … I don’t take it personally.”
So UCLA beat Oregon State, which beat USC. That might give the Westwood diehards some hope for Dec. 2.
Not so fast: The Bruins and Trojans have six common opponents. The Trojans have been better in five of the six, for an average edge of 12 points.
Nice enough win for the Bruins on Saturday, though. Because any win would have been nice for them now.
Next up, Arizona State, next Saturday night at Tempe. The Bruins’ chance for a bowl will be settled then.
“Everybody’s still optimistic about the season,” Markey said, “even though …”